Lock-nut



(NO Mode1.)-

R, KIRKPATRICK, G. S. TI LLBR & W. 0. KIRKPATRICK;

L001: NUT.

No. 506,596. Patented 'ooplo, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RUFUS KIRKPATRICK, GEORGE S. TILLER, AND WILLIAM O. KIRKPATRICK,

OF SWEET SPRINGS, MISSOURI.

LOCK-NUT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 506,596, dated OctoberI0, 1893. Application filed February 4, 1893. Serial No. 461,031. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, RUFUS KIRKPATRICK, GEORGE S. TILLER, and WILLIAM O.KIRK- PATRICK, citizens of the United States, residing at Sweet Springs,in the county of Saline and State of Missouri, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Lock-Nuts; and we do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

Our invention relates to lock nuts and means for removing the nut, andit consists of a bolt provided with a longitudinal groove or grooves incombination with a nut having a central open ended chambered portionprovided with radially set detent springs which bear with their endsupon the circumference of the bolt and catch in grooves of said boltwhen it is attempted to unscrew the bolt; and it further consists of akey having a central aperture for the passage of the bolt andlongitudinally projecting fingers surrounding said aperture, the keybeing adapted to he slipped over the end of the bolt and the fingers,passed into the chamber of the bolt and by turning the key in a properdirection lift the spring detents out of engagement with thelongitudinal grooves of the bolt so that the nut can be readily screwedoff, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section throughthe threaded portion of the bolt and the nut, the shank and head of thebolt being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a similar view, but with thekey applied to the bolt. Fig. 3 is an end view of the bolt and nut withthe key removed. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the nut and bolt, showingthe position of the key-and its releasing fingers when it is firstapplied to the nut; and Fig. 5 is a similar section, but showing thefingers of the key lifting the detent springs of the nut out ofengagement with the longitudinal grooves of the bolt, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the key.

A in the drawings represents a bolt provided with one or more beveledlongitudinal grooves a along its threaded portion and B represents a nutwhich is provided with a central open ended recessed portion or chamberb in its outer face which is inclosed on all its sides against theentrance of dirt and snow as shown. This chamber is of sufficientdiameter and depth to allow a detent spring or springs b to extend intothe same and bear with its or their ends upon the circumference of thebolt and when it is attempted to remove the nut to catch in one of thegrooves of the bolt and prevent the nut turning. The springs b aresecured in the nut in anysuitable manner, but in the drawings we haveshown one end of the springs seated in grooves or slits sawed in the nutand held in position by the said grooves, the outer ends of the springsbeing curved and bearing with a spring contact upon the surface of thebolt.

0 represents a key which is shown in detail in Fig. 6 and is used inunscrewing the not from the bolt. This key consists of a flat, nutshapedpiece of metal provided with a central round passage 0 to receive thethreaded end of the bolt and permit the same to pass through saidpassage to any extent desired. The key corresponds to the exterior shapeand size of the nut, and being provided with a central opening and madefiat on its inner face can be passed over the end of the bolt andbrought flush against the outer surface of the nut, and therebycompletely close the chamber of the nut against the entrance of dirt andsnow from the end. Around the circumference of this central passage anumber of fingers 0 corresponding preferably to the number of detentsprings in the nut are secured, which project outwardly a suitabledistance from the surface of the key. The key is first applied to thethreaded end of the nut in the manner shown in Fig. 4 so that thefingers of the key will occupy the spaces in the chamber of the nutbetween the spring detents and by turning the key to the left so that itwill occupy the position shown in Fig. 5, the spring detents will belifted out of engagement with the longitudinal grooves in the nut andthe fingers remain beneath the ends of the detents so that the nut canbe readily screwed off or on the bolt. The key can be left on the nut ifdesired and serve as a means for excluding dirt and snow from thechamber of the nut or it can be removed if desired. A

suitable cap can be placed over the nut for the same purpose. If it isnot desirable to leave a key on every bolt, a single key could be usedin removing any number of nuts and thus lessen the expense ofmanufacture.

Our construction of the nut with a central, open ended chamber permitsof the insertion of the key and manipulation of the detent springs in avery simple and effective manner.

What we claim as our inventionis- The combination of a bolt having alongitudinal groove or grooves in its thread portion, a nut providedwith a central, openended chamber which is inclosed on all sides againstthe entrance of dirt and detent springs secured in the nut having theirfree ends ex-

